Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar Duespotmar.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Duespotmarxe2x80x99.
The new Poinsettia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Rheinberg, Germany. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Poinsettia cultivars with uniform plant habit and attractive flower bract coloration.
The new Poinsettia is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of the Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar HWD Spotlight, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,854. The new Poinsettia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant within a population of plants of the cultivar HWD Spotlight in a controlled environment in Rheinberg, Germany. The selection of this plant was based on its attractive flower bract coloration and uniform plant habit.
Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by vegetative terminal cuttings taken at Rheinberg, Germany, has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Duespotmarxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Duespotmarxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Inflorescences with pink and pale yellow bi-colored flower bracts.
2. Dark green-colored leaves with green-colored petioles.
3. Uniform and rounded plant habit.
4. Excellent post-production longevity.
Compared to plants of the parent, the cultivar HWD Spotlight, plants of the new Poinsettia have darker green leaves, longer flower bract petioles, and fewer cyathia per corymb. In addition, plants of the new Poinsettia and the cultivar HWD Spotlight differ in flower bract coloration as plants of the cultivar HWD Spotlight have red-colored flower bracts.
Plants of the new Poinsettia can be compared to plants of the cultivar Marblestar, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,685. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Rheinberg, Germany, plants of the new Poinsettia differed from plants of the cultivar Marblestar in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Poinsettia were slightly shorter than plants of the cultivar Marblestar.
2. Plants of the new Poinsettia were more freely branching than plants of the cultivar Marblestar.
3. Plants of the new Poinsettia had smaller and darker green leaves than plants of the cultivar Marblestar.
4. Plants of the new Poinsettia had smaller flower bracts than plants of the cultivar Marblestar.
5. Plants of the new Poinsettia and the cultivar Marblestar differed in flower bract coloration as plants of the cultivar Marblestar had light red and light pink bi-colored flower bracts.